Stephen -townsend



PATENTED JAN. 12, 1904.

s. TOWNSEND. TELEGRAPH OR OTHER BLANK.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 17. 1903.

no MODEL.

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Richard Ros.

SmithCQ SmithCo.

INVENTOR WITNESSES ATTORNEY "m: Ncmms warms cu. mmouwu, wssumomu, o. c

UNITED STATES Y Patented January 12, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

TELEGRAPH OR OTHER BLANK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 749,241, dated January 12, 1904.

ikpplication file'd March 17, 1903.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that LSTEPHEN Towns END, of Scotchplains, Union county, New'Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Telegraph or other Blanks, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates-to improvements in blanks upon which messages are written, and particularly to improvements in blanks such as are used in connection with receiving and writing out telegraph messages, although the blank is also adapted for advantageous use as memorandum or other blank in mercantile or other houses or in places where much memorandum-work is done. Primarily the blank is, as stated, for use in telegraph-work. It is the custom for a telegraph operator to write out the messages on a type-writer; the operator translatesthe sounds as they come to him into the written words on the machine. In taking long messages he is therefore frequently interrupted by having to shift the paper sheets in the type-writing machine, and this is especially true where he is doing codeworkthat is, where a letter sound will stand for a long word. In any event the loss of time in shifting the paper is considerable. It is also known that the blanks as generally used come in regulation sizes, and there is a great waste of paper, as often a long blank will be used for a comparatively short message. Then, again, in ordinary commercial work it is more convenient to take paper from a continuous roll and tear it off as needed; but it is also desirable to have the heading of the house appear on the paper used. The object of my invention is to overcome these difiiculties and to produce a continuous blank which can be torn or cut off at any desired point, which is constructed so that the heading of the telegraph company, commercial house, or other concern will appear on the paper, and, further, to construct and arrange the blank so that it is possible to have a contract or statement of conditions or other matter printed on the back in such a way that the terms of the contract or conditions will appear on every blank torn oif.

To these ends my invention'consists of a blank adapted for telegraph or other use, the

Serial No. 148,164. (No model.)

construction and arrangement of which will be hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification,

- however, of having the heading horizontally across the paper it is made longitudinally of the paper and along one edge, as shown clearly in Fig. 1. Thus the Postal Telegraph, the VVestern Union, or other line can have its regulation heading along the edge; but the heading is arranged in a series of relatively short duplications, so that a blank can be torn off at any point between the two heading-sections, and thus it will be complete. The conditions on the back are printed in a size of type to bring the complete contract or statement of conditions within a section of the blank corresponding to the size of one of the heading-sections, so that wherever a blank is torn oif' if it is between the sections it will be complete in every respect. It will be observed that this leaves the body portion of the blank entirely plain, so that a message of any length may be written without changing the paper. In practice I shall arrange a roll of the paper in close proximity to the type-writing or other machine, so that it may be fed through continuously until the message is completely transcribed, when the blank is torn off.

Where a house is using a large amount of telegraph blanks and wishes its own name or other matter thereon, it can be arranged in some such way as shown in Fig. 3, and blanks if not used for telegraphic purposes can also be madewith or without this continuous body portion and with the heading along the edge or with other descriptive matter along the edge and with or without the contract or other conditions on the back.

It will be clearly seen that the identifying matter placed along the edge is immaterial and that the blank can be provided with lines along the heading, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, to indicate the points where it is to be severed, or it may be left plain, if preferred. If the lines are used, as shown in the photo, they are not perforated, as this would destroy the purpose of the blank, but are simply printed lines to aid in tearing off a straight blank. It will be seen, therefore, that I provide a simple blank, which is adapted for a great variety of uses and which has an uninterrupted body or writing portion.

In the description I have referred to the matter along the edge of the blank as a heading, this answering as well as anything else to describe the characteristics, and in using this term in the description and claims I mean to include any identifying characteristics which it may be desired to print along the edge of the blank.

In the claims I shall use the word heading as indicating the identifying matter along the edge of the blankas, for instance, in Fig. 1, which comprises the emblem and the words Telegraph Union Company, New York, 620. while in Fig. 3 it comprises the words Smith Company and Telegram.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. As an improved article of manufacture, a telegraph or other blank havinga plain uninterrupted or blank body portion to receive the Written message, and with the matter usually constituting theidentifying heading duplicated along the edge.

2. A telegraph or other blank,having a plain or blank body portion to receive the Written matter, and the matter usually constituting the heading duplicated along the edge, but with breaks between the duplications to indicate where the blank may be torn off.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

STEPHEN TOWNSEND.

Witnesses:

WARREN B. HUTCHINSON, J. G. DUNBAR. 

